Sustainable Development in the Transport Sector: Influencing Environmental Behaviour and Performance

Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy are becoming increasingly important in the development of business strategies. Consequently, corporate road freight transport comes under particular scrutiny due to its substantial impact on the environment. This paper explores the implementation of environmental management in the Austrian road freight transport sector. A model based on an extensive literature review is developed and adapted to show the impact of attitude, company size and sector affiliation. It is tested using data from a quantitative survey. Based on an extensive literature review a model of influencing factors is developed and tested using data from a quantitative survey. According to our findings, we adopted the model with respect to the impact of attitude, company size and sector affiliation. Although decision‐makers' attitudes have a significant influence on the companies' actual environmental performance, firm size and sector affiliation are shown to have a far greater influence. It is therefore necessary to offer external incentives and support in order to improve environmental behaviour, especially among smaller and transport companies. Such instruments, however, need to be aligned on an international basis and across industries to prevent friction and competitive disadvantage. In addition to policy intervention (legal restrictions and incentives) and improvements on a corporate level, consumer awareness should be raised in order to create public pressure for companies to implement environmental management. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Benefits of Cross‐sector Partnerships in Markets at the Base of the Pyramid

In this paper we analyze whether cross‐sector partnerships enable companies to respond to the specific conditions at the base of the pyramid (BOP). We develop three hypotheses in which we argue how cross‐sector partnerships support companies to face unfamiliar conditions in these markets. We test the developed hypotheses against the data of 103 companies operating in BOP‐markets. The results show that companies rely on organizations from the civil society sector in order to meet customer needs. Partners from the business sector are supportive when responding to restrictive market conditions. Institutional partnerships should be considered when companies aim at responding to the regulatory environment. We outline theoretical and managerial implications and reflect some limitations of the study. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

High‐performance work system implementation in small and medium enterprises: A knowledge‐creation perspective

While it is well established that high‐performance work systems (HPWSs) affect firm‐level outcomes within large, complex organizations, less is known about how they create benefits for firms within the small‐business sector. Using a knowledge‐creation perspective, this study examines the impact of HPWSs in small and medium enterprises and examines whether the impact observed depends on the small‐business leader's capacity to obtain additional HR knowledge from an external expert, as well as the leader's HR background and knowledge. Archival and survey data were obtained from 294 small‐business organizations, with survey responses obtained from both the small‐business leader and an HR consultant assigned to the small business. Findings suggest that leader perceptions of HR effectiveness are positively related to the use of HPWSs and that this relationship is moderated both by the communication patterns between the small‐business leader and the HR consultant assigned to the firm and the small‐business leader's HR knowledge. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Climate Change and Mandatory Carbon Reporting: Impacts on Business Process and Performance

As part of their annual directors' report, UK‐listed companies are now required to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and account publicly for their contributions to climate change. This paper uses this mandatory carbon reporting to explore wider debates about corporate social responsibility and the purpose, practice, and impacts of such non‐financial reporting. Empirically, it combines documentary analysis of the carbon reporting practices of 176 large firms listed in the FTSE100 and/or subject to the UK government's adaptation reporting power with 60 interviews with stakeholders involved in carbon reporting. Firms disclose their emissions in response to financial incentives, social pressure and/or regulatory compulsion. In turn, rationales shape whether and how carbon reporting influences internal business processes and performance. The importance of reporting to the bottom line varies by sector depending on two variables – energy intensity and economic regulator status – yet there is limited evidence that carbon reporting is driving substantial reductions in emissions. Findings suggest reasons for caution about hopes for ‘nudging’ firms to improve their environmental performance and social responsibility through disclosure requirements.     

Environmental issue management: towards a multi‐level theory of environmental management competence

The continuity and profitability of business firms are under constant threat from environmental issues – forthcoming developments in the environmental domain or involving environmental stakeholders that are likely to have an important impact on the ability of the enterprise to meet its objectives. Managers must forge responses to such issues, but must they respond in an ad hoc fashion to every issue or can they develop more coherent environmental management competences? Empirical evidence was collected from a case study of the environmental issue management practices of Unilever, one of the largest food and personal care companies in the world. This company's approach to dealing with the issue of genetically modified ingredients reveals that issue managers face a complex level‐of‐analysis problem when confronting environmental issues: how to translate individual‐level knowledge into organization‐level outcomes? The theory developed here suggests that once firms learn how to span this chasm, they are able not only to address discrete environmental issues, but also to build competitive environmental advantages through the development of integrative organizational competences. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Factors influencing the quality of corporate environmental disclosure

Many firms choose to communicate their environmental strategies through voluntary environmental disclosures. This paper examines patterns in the quality of voluntary environmental disclosures made by a sample of around 450 large UK companies drawn from a diverse range of industrial sectors. The analysis distinguishes between five facets of quality, including the disclosure of group‐wide environmental policies, environmental impact targets and an environmental audit. We examine how the decisions firms face regarding each facet of quality are determined by firm and industry characteristics, and find the quality of disclosure to be determined by a firm's size and the nature of its business activities. Specifically, we find high quality disclosure to be primarily associated with larger firms and those in sectors most closely related to environmental concerns. In contrast to several recent contributions, we find that the media exposure of companies plays no role in stimulating voluntary disclosures. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

New value partnerships: the lessons of Denny's/Save the Children partnership for building high‐yielding cross‐sector alliances

While business and nonprofit organisations have long used alliances within their own sectors to address specific needs, increasingly they are turning to cross‐sector partnerships that benefit both parties while they serve the common good. In the last decade, marketing alliances between businesses and social sector organisations have become increasingly common as ways for companies to achieve business objectives and for social sector organisations to raise their visibility and attract new resources. The alliance between Denny's and Save the Children provides an example of a noteworthy marketing partnership that shows how a cross‐sector alliance can assist a company with a damaged public image to build a new public identity while enabling an international nonprofit organisation to create an ambitious programme for US children. As a new value partnership, a long‐term, high yielding alliance between businesses and social sector organisations, this relationship is characterised by several elements: communication, opportunity, mutuality, multiple levels, open‐endedness, and new value, forming the acronym COMMON. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications     

Being ‘Green and Competitive’: The Impact of Environmental Actions and Collaborations on Firm Performance

In this paper, we seek to enhance the understanding of the link between environmental management and firm performance, so contributing to the debate of being “green and competitive”. Relying on the resource‐based view, we study the effect of different environmental management capabilities on a firm's market and image performance. In particular, we analyze the capabilities to implement product and process‐related environmental actions with different types of environmental focus (materials, energy, pollution) and the capabilities to develop environmental collaborations with different types of actors (both business actors and non‐business actors). To this aim we conducted a survey on 122 Italian companies. Results show that market performance and image performance have partially different antecedents. Specifically, a firm's market performance is positively affected by the capabilities to implement environmental actions with a focus on energy and pollution and to develop environmental collaborations both with business and with non‐business actors. On the other hand, a firm's image performance is positively affected by the capabilities to implement environmental actions with a focus on materials and to develop environmental collaborations with non‐business actors. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Sustainability reporting,materiality, and accountability assessment in the airport industry

Air travel is, nowadays, recognized as being one of the most popular modes of transport. Air transport is among the most significant contributors to the world gross domestic product and is accountable for a great environmental and social impact. Driven by the well‐established sustainability discourse and the vital role businesses can play in disseminating the sustainable development concept, this paper attempted to map airport industry's most material operational aspects and assess airport operators' accountability level on disclosing corporate information regarding airports' economic, environmental, and social performance. In this context, 33 reports and 903 material issues representing 193 international airports were reviewed and assessed, and a methodology for benchmarking the accountability level of best reporting airport operators was developed, showcasing materiality assessment as a useful management tool for strengthening airport operators' business strategy and enhancing their corporate performance. The paper indicated that (a) customer focus (i.e., health, safety and satisfaction), economic viability, and business continuity and preparedness are operational aspects of high materiality and (b) the disclosure level, especially concerning specific performance indicators, is still moderate. In conclusion, this study has shown that materiality assessment gains ground as a management tool among airports' management teams and the completeness of Sustainability reports is positively correlated with the “level” of adherence as described by the Global Reporting Initiative.     

Exploring factors relating to extinction disclosures: What motivates companies to report on biodiversity and species protection?

This paper seeks to contribute to the existing business strategy and the environment literature by investigating the disclosure practices of biodiversity/extinction (B/E) and threatened species. We use greenwashing theory to understand global companies' motivation to report on B/E information. Data are collected from 200 Fortune Global companies for 3 years. We develop our comprehensive 53 disclosure index and create and test OLS regression model to measure the relationships between B/E disclosures and its determinants factors including environmental performance, industry sector, country, assurance, environmental awards, presence of biodiversity partners, and the number of species' related disclosure. Our results reveal that there are positive significant relationships between B/E disclosure and assurance provided by the Big 4: gaining an environmental award, companies from high biodiversity risk sectors, developing countries, presence of biodiversity partners, and how many specific biodiversity words are published in companies' reports. On the other hand, there are positive insignificant relationships between B/E disclosure and assurance: poor performers and the number of species disclosed in companies' reports. Our findings have important implications for regulators and policymakers. Our evidence appears to be robust when controlling for possible endogeneities.     

Procurement of logistics services and sustainable development in Europe: Fields of activity and empirical results

This paper strives to answer the general question; how far purchasers of logistics services take into account aspects of sustainable development. Modeled on the German Sustainable Development Strategy, which is based on the EU Sustainable Development plan, five fields of activity are defined: the reduction of transport intensity and emission, the reduction of land use, the choice of carrier under consideration of sustainable aspects, the permanent improvement of working conditions, and the enhancement of qualified employment. Then, propositions for purchasing companies of logistics services are developed, which contribute to safeguard ecological as well as social sustainability. In order to conduct an explorative study, a questionnaire was sent to 750 purchase and logistics managers. It was found that purchasing companies place high value on ecological and social aspects. But the perceived importance is not associated with purchasing companies' own contributions to logistics service providers' sustainable activities. Additionally, it was seen that purchasing companies exert only a minor influence on logistics service providers regarding ecologically and socially sustainable actions. A fundamental precondition for a sustainably oriented procurement of logistics services can be seen in the purchasing companies' awareness of the need for integrating sustainable aspects in economic decisions.     

Issues in the implementation of proactive environmental strategies

Management consultants, environmental groups, and industry trade associations have all recently offered guidelines for companies to improve environmental performance.¹ The guidelines suggest ways that companies can implement strategic change to move beyond compliance with regulation, assume responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products, and gain public credibility. Much of the advice offered can be useful to managers who are responding to rapidly changing environmental pressures. Nevertheless, implementation of some of the general guidelines could impose undue costs or introduce untoward organisational consequences for certain companies. While mentioned as an issue in the management literature, companies need more systematic advice on how best to tailor these broad guidelines for environmental strategic change to the specific needs and capabilities of their companies. In addition, as many companies are comprised of diverse business units that are sometimes linked together only through financial controls, managers must adapt environmental management programs to unique ‘substructures’ within the firm. These substructures can differ dramatically in their environmental performance and their management capabilities. Elsewhere we have offered a framework for analysing environmental strategies and management programs.² In this paper, we identify some of the implementation issues that confront companies when they introduce environmental strategic change. We argue that environmental strategies are most effectively implemented when they are consistent with the organisational characteristics and operating context of the company involved. We use Volvo's experience with environmental strategic change to highlight many of the difficulties that companies may encounter when altering their approach to environmental performance. The case illustrates how a company can modify its own strategy and management programs for more effective change. It is an interesting case to study because of the proactive and comprehensive nature of Volvo's environmental strategy and management programs.     

在公路运输业中发展物流的对策浅析

近年来一些公路运输企业,特别是较大型的运输企业的"物流"意识迅速增加,一些较先进的企业已经开始从单纯的"车轮"公司发展为能提供多种服务的物流服务公司。公路运输是以其机动灵活,可以实现门到门运输而在现代物流中起着重要作用。面对物流的发展,公路运输业如何融人物流,成为真正意义上的"第三方物流",是许多公路运输企业,特别是一些较有实力的大型公路运输企业进一步发展所关注的问题。     

From ‘start-up’ to ‘re-boot’: Product lifecycle strategies and competitive advantage in the computer industry

The PC sector, following the packaging and car manufacturing industries, will increasingly be forced to acknowledge and account for its product base throughout the commodity's life, and beyond. The environmental problems being posed by electronic waste have been recognized and both the EU and the individual Member States are discussing solutions which may or may not include legislative action. In anticipation, product take-back programmes are beginning to emerge within the industry and the economics and logistics of re-use and recycling are at the forefront of this debate. The issues in store for this sector are examined and specific initiatives by organizations considered. It is asked whether a ‘closing of the product loop’ will generate a competitive advantage for these companies and what impact an industry-led ‘consortia’ initiative may have.     

Does financing strategy accelerate corporate energy transition? Evidence from green bonds

With energy transition becoming an urgent priority for companies worldwide, practitioners and policymakers are urging them to finance climate-friendly projects. This paper investigates how the issuance of green bonds affects firms' carbon emissions and environmental performance. Our results show that green bond issuance significantly improves firms' overall environmental performance and their capacities to create new environmental technologies and processes. However, green bond issuance has a less clear effect on carbon emissions intensity and requires additional time (one or more years) before being able to improve the emissions intensity. Taken together, our study's findings clearly highlight the importance of green bonds in financing energy transition in the corporate sector and provide evidence to encourage policymakers to strengthen the legal framework relating to their issuance.     

Environmental business strategy: the Portuguese case

This study focuses on the adoption of environmental management systems and corporate social responsibility reporting as mechanisms for creating a differential advantage, looking at how different stakeholders in an organization perceive the importance of instituting these mechanisms as determinants of market success. The paper then aims to focus on environmental business strategy and corporate social responsibility reporting in companies, rather than prescribing policy for the entire sector. In so doing it postulates that compliance with market requirements on environmentally related issues, by instituting proper environmental management mechanisms and corporate social responsibility reporting, is a pre‐requisite for acceptance of the firm and its products in the market. The paper is methodologically based on a set of 60 interviews conducted with various agents in the Portuguese textile industry, ranging from policy‐makers to industrialists and NGOs, with a view to determining differences in perception between the various stakeholders. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Business process re-engineering in the logistics industry: a study of implementation,success factors,and performance

As business process re-engineering (BPR) is an important foundation to ensure the success of enterprise systems, this study would like to investigate the relationships among BPR implementation, BPR success factors, and business performance for logistics companies. Our empirical findings show that BPR companies outperformed non-BPR companies, not only on information processing, technology applications, organisational structure, and co-ordination, but also on all of the major logistics operations. Comparing the different perceptions of the success factors for BPR, non-BPR companies place greater emphasis on the importance of employee involvement while BPR companies are more concerned about the influence of risk management. Our findings also suggest that management attitude towards BPR success factors could affect performance with regard to technology applications and logistics operations. Logistics companies which have not yet implemented the BPR approach could refer to our findings to evaluate the advantages of such an undertaking and to take care of those BPR success factors affecting performance before conducting BPR projects.     

Analysing the importance of sustainability‐oriented service quality in competition environment

The logistics sector is one of the most important domains in the service sector in understanding the increasing scale of business activities along with globalization. Due to the nature of the service sector, where competition is increasingly concentrated, the main objective of firms is the creation of their strategy on competitive advantage in regard with knowing the level of quality of the services offered and the firm's image from the customers' point of view. Trying to adapt to the changing conditions of the market drives firms to integrate their competing areas into their sustainability dimensions (economic, social, and environmental) with the aim of increasing their perceived quality through differentiating their business to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. The aim of this study is to examine the quality level perceived by logistics service providers in terms of triple bottom line approach and to determine the relationship between them for sustainable competition. In line with exploratory methods, factor analysis was used with the aim of finding out a new scale to the literature about the examination of the relationship between quality perception and corporate sustainability in the frame of competition. In this context, data of 120 logistics service providers were collected and analysed. According to the results, the content of the subject consists of nine factors and 29 interrelated subdimensions. As a result of the research, firms have emphasized on the importance of reaching the competition by expanding their quality perceptions within the scope of corporate sustainability in parallel with the increasing customer demands and expectations.     

A novel business strategies framework of do-it-yourself practices in logistics to minimise environmental waste and improve performance

The transportation sector is consuming a high quantity of oil and producing air pollution, CO₂ and allergies, as well as promoting the storage of goods in traditional warehouses. It is not only creating waste and environmental pollution but also increasing temperature, air pollution and low rainfall. The present study intends to uncover and understand the challenges of logistic infrastructure as well as how the adoption of do-it-yourself (DIY) business strategies is useful to encourage those practices and technology which are useful in transforming the logistic infrastructure into an eco-friendly environment. The DIY focuses on purposely utilising digital technologies to increase the engagement and involvement of customers in businesses. Moreover, DIY enables organisations to produce products and services that are highly demanded and have high acceptability. After doing an extensive literature review, the enablers of DIY are identified, and empirical investigation has been conducted. The analysis of the study provides a business strategies framework of DIY which would help the logistics managers in the proper implementation of the DIY practices to minimise negative environmental impact and improve business performance.     

Influence of the entrepreneur's capacity in business performance

The article presents a theoretical model of the entrepreneur's capacities and their influence on business performance. Starting from the traditional theory of dynamic capacities, those related to entrepreneurship and/or that influence the entrepreneur's capacities are identified, determining factors such as training, experience and confidence. In addition, other factors such as the environmental and institutional environment have been taken into account as they affect the entrepreneurship. For this purpose, a study was carried out with the Smart PLS software in a sample of companies in the tourism sector in the Mar Menor Region (Spain). An essential factor in the development of entrepreneurship in the region is the sustainability of the coastal lagoon. Some considerations are obtained from the study of the factors that determine the model of capacities, in which the confidence of the entrepreneur and the environmental sustainability, exert a positive and significant influence in the business performance. Furthermore, among the mentioned capacities of the entrepreneurial influence, experience and trust are the ones that most influence the success of the tourism business.